Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher SANDAG Reform Bill Approved by Committee

April 20, 2017 (Sacramento) California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) today won approval of her legislation to reform the agency responsible for roads and transit in San Diego County. Assembly Bill 805 was approved by the Assembly Local Government Committee with a vote of 5-4, and makes governance of SANDAG and other transportation agencies more proportional to the population.

“SANDAG needs to change. They have been caught misinforming the public, and they have been unresponsive to the concerns of the vast majority of the people in San Diego County for too long.” Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher said. “We have real transportation needs that aren’t being met because SANDAG is not capable of doing the job it needs to do.”

AB 805 makes numerous changes to the structure and operation of SANDAG. AB 805 establishes a process for triggering a proportional vote at the request of at least four jurisdictions represented on SANDAG. If triggered, votes will be allocated proportionally based on population, a move that is more in keeping with the principle of one person, one vote. The bill includes additional accountability measures, such as requiring annual reports are made to the state accounting for SANDAG’s plans to fund public transit needs, and insisting that regional transportation plans address greenhouse gas reduction rules and the needs of disadvantaged communities. Additionally, AB 805 would also provide the two local transit operators – the Metropolitan Transit System and the North County Transit District – the ability to approach voters in the communities they represent with a ballot measure to raise the sales tax to fund transit projects and operations.